Edwards: I desperately wanted to win.

Colin Edwards capped a superb Le Mans weekend by leading 20 of the 28 laps which formed Sunday's French Grand Prix, before taking his first ever MotoGP podium finish for new employer Yamaha.

Edwards hit the front after a brave outbraking move around the outside of countryman Nicky Hayden on the entry to the first chicane and delivered a faultless ride to firstly hold off the Repsol Honda rider and then - from lap 9 to 20 - his own Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi.

Having withstood the initial attentions of Rossi and Sete Gibernau, Edwards was eventually wrong footed when the Italian made his second decisive dive for the lead - Edwards hesitating as his team leader appeared alongside, allowing Gibernau to also pass as a result. Colin was left shaking his head as the top two broke away, and would soon decide to settle for third.

"I desperately wanted to win that race but the other guys were just too fast today!" admitted Colin. "Basically we took a gamble on the race tyre because with the limited dry track time in practice we only had five laps on it and didn't know if it would work towards the end of the race. I got a good start, got into my rhythm of mid-34s and knew that should be enough to keep me at the front.

"If you'd have said to me you have to get into the 33s I'd have told you there was no way I could do those times! But then Valentino and Sete came through and their pace was incredible!" he added. "The tyre got really hot and I had of couple of moments, so I just decided to make sure of third place. It's an overdue reward for the phenomenal job the team have been doing and now we have a firm base to go from for the rest of the season."

Having finished just ninth, sixth and eighth in the preceding three rounds, Sunday's race was exactly what Edwards and his crew needed - while team manager Davide Brivio was delighted to have both his bikes on the podium

"It was a very important podium for Colin - I have always believed that he was capable of this kind of performance," said Brivio. "Today was a result of the hard work put in by the team over the winter and the first three rounds of the season. Now we want to see both riders on the podium as much as possible!"